Western Europe Forecasts First Major Heat Event of Summer

A large swathe of western Europe is bracing for the first significant heat event of the summer, with temperatures forecast to rise more than 10C above seasonal norms. Temperatures across Portugal, Spain, France and the UK were expected to exceed 30C on Friday and into next week.

Readings could reach 32C in Paris and London and 35C in south-west France, with highs of up to 38C in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir regions of Spain.

France The French national weather forecaster said new records were almost certain to be set for the highest May temperature recorded in France and the highest average temperature across the country on a day in May. It said the exceptional temperatures, likely to exceed previous records by three or four degrees in some cities such as Nantes and Brest, were caused by a heat dome, with hot air from Morocco trapped under the high pressure of a powerful anticyclone.

The forecaster said the temperatures expected in Brittany in particular were quite remarkable so early in the pre-summer season and likely to exceed existing records by as many as three or more degrees.

The Met Office said temperatures in the UK, where extraordinary heat health alerts have been issued for the weekend, could reach 33C locally on Monday, exceeding the current highest temperature recorded in May of 32.8C set in 1944. Parts of the UK could also enter a heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 26C to 28C for three days.

Spain, where temperatures already reached 38C on Thursday, the heat claimed the life of a two-year-old girl who died in the northwest region of Galicia after accidentally being left in her father’s car for hours. The state meteorological office said the hot spell was expected to stretch well into next week and could bring record May temperatures.